Do any of you guys listen to SACD's. The is nothing out there that compares in sound quality to a multichannel SACD in a good player, its like the difference between a High Definition TV compared to an old broadcast. The only drawback with these disks is that there isn't as many to choose from as the standard CD's.

JK, although the SACD format doesn't automatically guarantee better sound, many SACDs are in fact produced in a superior manner. There're about 2,000 classical SACDs and and totally neglecting them is to unnecessarily miss out on some great music in excellent sound. I'll mention this Mussorgsky collection , available for about $12 with shipping, this Gershwin collection , about $17, and a companion disc(about $22) , which I like even better, from Mobile Fidelity to the fine Ravel collection that John(Jake)mentioned. All this is colorful music which should appeal to most.

Guess I had better check out some classical tunes. There are some great blues sacd's. Jmmy Witherspoon, Dietra Farr, Buddy Guy to name a couple. Patricia Barber is 2 channel...well recorded but I find 2 channel music boring now.

John, I don't have enough personal info for a complete analysis, but what I've heard and read would lead me to suggest that the Vanska discs have the outstanding sound quality and at least the 9th is a very high-energy performance that I really like. I'd also suggest that Kleiber's vigorous performances of the 5th and 7th, which are my clear choice on CD, should also be the pick on SACD. Note that Karajan's complete set is from the early 60s performances, and even with the improved remixing and remastering, there's a limit to the sonic improvement(still a bit of hiss, etc.)that's possible, and so the newer Vanska recordings would have the advantage there.